An orchard is a land area intentionally planted with fruit-bearing trees or shrubs. A seed orchard is a plantation of specially arranged trees used for mass producing genetically improved seeds to create new forests. There are two types of seed orchards - seedling seed orchards which use seedlings from selected parents, and clonal seed orchards which use clones propagated through grafting or other methods. Maintaining genetic purity in seed production is important and involves practices like isolation of seed fields, removal of off-type plants, periodic testing, and restricting seed production to certain generations.

2. ORCHARD
An orchard is an intentional planting of
trees or shrubs that is maintained for food
production.
Or
A piece of enclosed land planted with fruit
trees.

3. Seed Orchard
A seed orchard is an
intensively-managed
plantation of specifically
arranged trees for the mass
production of genetically
improved seeds to create
, or seeds for the establishment
of new forests.

4. 1. Seedling Seed Orchard (SSO): Seed
orchard raised from seedlings produced
from selected parents through natural or
controlled pollination.
2. Clonal Seed Orchard (CSO): Seed
orchard raised from selected clones
propagated by grafting, cutting, air-layering
or tissue culture.

5. GENETIC PURITY: It refers to the percentage of
contamination by seeds or genetic material of
other varieties/ species. The genetic purity of
any commercial agricultural product propagated
by seed begins with the purity of the seed planted
The various steps suggested by HATMAN and
KESTER for Maintaining genetic purity.

6.  Providing adequate isolation to prevent
contamination by natural crossing or mechanical
mixtures.
 Roughing of seed fields, prior to the stage at
which they could contaminate the seed crop.
 periodic testing of varieties for genetic purity.
Avoiding genetic shift by growing crops areas of
their adaptation only.

7.  Adopting generation system. (the seeds
produced is restricted to four generation only i.e.
starting from breeders seeds.) and the seeds can
be multiplied up to three more generations i.e.
foundations, registered and certified.
 The important factors/ safeguards for
maintaining genetic purity during seed
production are--

8. For raising a seed crop the seeds should be
required from an approved source and from an
appropriate class is necessary.
For classes of seeds are generally recognized in
seed certification namely breeder seed,
foundation, registered and certified. These classes
are recognized by AOSCA i.e. Association of
Official Seed Certifying Agencies.

9. Breeder’s seed: Is a seed or vegetative
propagating material which is directly controlled
by sponsoring breeder of institution and which
provides increases of foundation seeds.
Foundation seed: Is a seed stock so as to
maintain specific genetic identity and purity and
may be designated or disturbed by agriculture
experiment station. Production must be carefully
supervised by representatives of the station.
Foundation seed is the source of all other
certified seed classes, either directly or through
registered seed.

10. Registered Seed: Registered seed is the
progenies of foundation and it is handled so
as to maintain genetic identity and purity
and that has been approved by and certified
by certifying agencies.
Certified Seed: Is the progeny of
foundation, registered or certified seed,
that is handled to maintain genetic identity
and purity and that has been approved by
and certified by certifying agencies.

11. Isolation is required during seed crop production
to avoid contamination due to natural crossing
and diseases infection by wind and insects from
neighboring field and also during sowing,
harvesting, threshing, and handling of seeds to
avoid mechanical mixtures.
The isolation distance is different from crop to
crop and different classes of seeds .

12. The removal of off time plants is referred as
ROUGING.
There are three main sources of off-type:

13. The off-type plant may be arises due to presence
of recessive genes in heterozygous condition at the
time of release of variety.(The recessive genes may
also arise by mutation).
Off-type plants are due to volunteer plants or
seed produced by earlier crop.
Mechanical mixtures also constitute the major
source for off-type plants.

14. Provenance
 It is the original geographic source of seed, pollen or
propagules (geographic source, geographic race).
 A Provenance test : a test planting of seed sources on a
uniform site at uniform spacing.

15. THANKS